Notebook: LSU Coach Ed Orgeron Talks Injuries, Protection and Defensive Focuses Ahead of McNeese
After Saturday night’s disappointing loss, Coach Ed Orgeron rallied his troops Sunday to watch eight hours of film where the Tigers assessed what went wrong.
“They gave us some challenging stuff,” Orgeron said. “Almost every down they were sliding the front, protecting the back end, so it was a challenging offense and we knew that going into it. All the things we saw on tape, and we spent eight hours on the tape on Sunday, everything was fixable. Every one can be fixed.”
Tuesday afternoon Orgeron discussed the pass protection woes, defensive issues that occurred and injuries heading into game week against McNeese St.
Pass Protection
All Saturday night, starting quarterback Max Johnson was left running for his life in order to make plays. With the offensive line giving Johnson no time in the pocket, no time for the Tigers receivers to get open and providing no holes for the running backs to go through, it put this offense in a brutal position.
After struggles from the Tigers rushing attack early in the first quarter, the offense virtually abandoned the run game, forcing Johnson to throw for 46 passes.
“I met with the offense, we have to be more diverse. Something that I wanted and again, it didn’t happen in the game,” Orgeron said. “That’s my responsibility, but we met with them on Sunday and we have to get the ball outside. We have to run some pin and pulls. We have to be more diverse. I guarantee you’re gonna see it this week.”
In order for the offense to be more potent and diverse, it all starts with the big guys up front to provide time for plays to develop. With a veteran offensive line unit, it’s only a matter of time until chemistry builds to give Johnson and the run game a better chance for success.
Defensive Woes
The Tigers defense looked reminiscent to last year’s unit in their week one loss to the Bruins. With LSU unable to get into a groove defensively, the Bruins running backs carved up the front four consistently, opening up the passing game of UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
“We have to be able to stop the run,” Orgeron said. “Whatever that takes. We have to play gap football and stop the run. Then we gave up too many explosive plays. We (allowed) 11 explosive plays, that’s way too many.”
For the Tigers defensive unit to be successful, they’ll have to slow down their opponent’s rushing attack. The depth of the defensive linemen is plentiful, giving coordinator Daronte Jones the chance to experiment if the veterans don’t step up.
A major letdown of the defense was giving up major chunk plays, many of which came on crossing routes run by the Bruins.
“As far as the crossing routes, we have some match-zone principals and our players have to trust their keys,” Orgeron said. “They were showing different keys and it confused our players. We looked at it, looked at the terminology of what we’re doing. If they get that look again, hopefully we can cover it.”
Injuries
When it rains, it pours. After the Tigers devastating loss to the Bruins, they’ll be without a few players due to injury in this week’s showdown against in-state opponent McNeese St. and potentially even longer.
The Tigers will be without both starting offensive tackles Austin Deculus and Cam Wire in this week’s contest after the two veterans got injured Saturday in Pasadena.
Along with the two offensive linemen out due to injury, LSU will be without starting defensive end Ali Gaye this week after getting banged up against the Bruins.
A few players whose status for this week’s game is still up in the air include starting safety Jay Ward, running back John Emery and wide receiver Jontre Kirklin. Orgeron stated he’d know more about Emery’s status Friday, listing him as “week-to-week.”
Final Thoughts
It was a horrific showing for the Tigers in the Rose Bowl Stadium last Saturday in front of many Tiger fans who made the trek. As Orgeron and his staff assess the schematic issues and focus on protecting Max Johnson for the rest of the season, the goal remains the same for the Tigers.
With a beat up offensive line and a rushing attack that was virtually nonexistent, LSU will look to improve in those areas immediately. Though the season opener was a letdown for Tiger fans, there is still a lot to like about this young team who has the opportunity to recover.
“When you look at the film, the thing I was the most pleased with was the effort of the players, so the leadership and continuity is there,” Orgeron said. “Everything else can be fixed, but that’s the most important thing, and they’ve got it. Now it comes down to fundamentals and the details.”
